A Great Social Experiment for Dove's Real Beauty Campaign

Dove, a personal care brand manufactured by Unilever and sold globally, has in the past several years been known for their "Real Beauty" campaign, which aims to help women around the world become more comfortable with themselves and embrace their physical characteristics. This has resulted in the creation of heartwarming TV commercials, print ads, and viral videos (among others) which has reached millions of audiences worldwide.

On April 14, another video was uploaded on YouTube. Since it was uploaded two days ago, the video has earned over 655,000 views, and has been shared numerous times on social media. The video, which is three minutes long, shows how a sketch artist was able to show how women see themselves as opposed to how other people see them, by letting the women describe themselves to the artist and by letting other people describe the women featured. The sketches are then shown to the women to let them realize how poor their perceptions of themselves are. 

This is indeed another great inspirational campaign from Dove. Congratulations to the marketing team who came up with this brilliant idea!

After "Gangnam Style", Here Comes Psy's "Gentleman"

The song "Gangnam Style" by South Korean rapper Psy is undeniably one of the most popular songs in recent history. Released in mid-2012, the song's music video with its catchy tune and horse riding-inspired crazy dance moves has since had around 1.5 billion views on YouTube, making it the first YouTube video to ever hit the 1 billion views mark and thus making it the most watched YouTube video of all time.

Following the song's phenomenal success, many are now wondering whether Psy's follow-up single, Gentleman, and its music video (released today) would be able to reach the same amount of success as the 2012 hit, or if Psy would just end up another one-hit wonder. 

The music video of "Gentleman" quite obviously tries to match up to that of "Gangnam Style" with its own share of crazy characters and dance moves. I was instantly reminded of the Gangnam Style music video as I was watching the new song's music video, as they both actually seem to share a similar pattern. The costumes, the formations, the sequence of events (beginning with the bit where he walks along a hallway at the start of the music video up until the big dance finale featuring dozens of back-up dancers), and even the locations (elevator, anyone?)--almost everything, basically, contains hints or references to the 2012 hit.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is what we can't really be sure of just yet--it may take a while for us to see whether Gentleman would be able to match up to Gangnam Style's success. It took Gangnam Style quite a while before it's popularity globally actually took off, after all. It only hit the 1-billion mark last December, five months after the music video was uploaded. 

For now, we will have to see whether Gangnam Style's success would actually rub off on this one.

Gangnam Style--Flipbook Animation Version

Now that's talent!

Abusive College Professor Caught on Tape

I sense another "YouTube sensation" in the making.

After Christopher Lao, Robert Blair Carabuena, and the "Amalayer" girl, this foul-mouthed Personality Development professor (identified as Narciso Varona) at the Montessori Professional College in Pasay City, clad in a pink shirt and tie, could be the next one to gain notoriety. 

On January 6, YouTube user annamae macayan uploaded a video of a college professor yelling at his (mostly female) students, cursing, throwing papers around, and threatening to hit them with chairs and whatnot. Appropriately so, the video was given the title "ABUSADONG PROFESSOR, VIOLENTE AT HIGH BLOOD". The video's description also states that the professor in the video is the dean of the said school, followed by a call to spread the video to teach the man a lesson.

In the video, some of the female students were seen standing up to the professor, questioning his actions considering his position in the school. 

Whether the student was really at fault or not, this is NOT how a professor should react. What do you guys think?

Korean "Horse-Riding Dance" Gangnam Style Becomes a Viral Hit

Who needs to dougie or to shuffle when you have Gangnam Style?

Definitely not this South Korean recording artist, who goes by the name of Psy. Since the music video for his song Gangnam Style was uploaded on YouTube on July 15, 2012, the video has earned over 69,000,000 views from audiences around the world, creating the biggest dance craze that has swept the world since the Macarena of the 90s.

The video, which lasts for 4 minutes and 13 seconds, shows the Korean rapper dancing to what is now known as the "horse-riding dance" in various locations at a district in Seoul called "Gangnam", known as the "Beverly Hills of Korea" because of its trendy shops and affluent crowd. "Oppan Gangnam Style" literally means "I am (loving) the Gangnam style" in English, and the music videos shows Psy (who appears very comical and different as opposed to what Korean pop artists usually look like) trying to attract a younger, good-looking woman. 

Since it was uploaded on YouTube, the music video has earned the recognition of various influential media outlets such as CNN and The Wall Street Journal. It has also prompted people around the world to upload their own videos dancing to the song, and has earned the attention of celebrities who either praised the song, or danced along to it as well (as in the case of Nelly Furtado during her recent concert in Manila). 

"Words cannot even describe how amazing this video is," Tweeted American rapper T-Pain.

"Random Girl" Zendee Rose Tenerefe Amazes SM Megamall with her Voice

If you've been to the SM Megamall Supermarket (Building B) area just outside the Wines & Liquor store, then you've probably come across this stall that sells karaoke microphones with built-in songs (I'm not quite sure of the brand as there are several brands of those here in the country), which random people can try out. More often than not, those who try singing here just have average singing voices, while some may even have singing voices so terrible your ears would be bleeding for days (no exaggeration here--try listening to someone sing Journey's Faithfully so out of tune and you'd probably understand what I mean).

This isn't the case for this girl, though--and now, she's fast becoming another YouTube sensation.

On July 28, 2012, YouTube user youngjay0918 uploaded a video of a random girl (later identified as Zendee Rose Japitana Tenerefe--zendeerosetenerefe on YouTube, by the way) singing And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from the Broadway Musical Dreamgirls. She wasn't just singing, though--she was really, really singing! Her powerful voice has caught the attention not only of youngjay0918 but also those walking around the area--you can hear the people applauding her as she sings the high notes. Since the video was uploaded, the video now has over 610,000 views on YouTube and counting. 

Hats off to this new YouTube singing sensation--keep it up!

Would You? (Top Ten Weird Ways to Take a Bath)

Yes, It's Another "Call Me Maybe" Video

Look who decided to join the "Call Me Maybe" bandwagon.

One Day in College...

If all lectures at schools and universities would be delivered this way, students wouldn't dare miss out on class anymore--just saying.

Musical Flashback: Alapaap by The Eraserheads (1994)

Alapaap (English: "Cloud") is a 1994 song by the popular Filipino 90s rock group The Eraserheads, from their album Circus. The critically-acclaimed group, composed of members Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala, and Marcus Adoro, has become a staple in the Filipino music industry and, to some, has even achieved "legendary" status, earning them the title "The Beatles of the Philippines". Likewise, their songs have also received much-praise, garnering several awards and with numerous singers and bands making their own cover versions. 

This 1994 song, Alapaap, is no exception--this song became the band's ninth hit single and was the fourth hit single from the album Circus alone. It was, however, subject to controversy in 1995 when this and several other songs by local bands at the time were under investigation by government officials, led by Senator Tito Sotto. After reviewing the song's lyrics, he alleged that the song was about (and thus promoted) drug abuse (his logic: "Clouds = "getting high"). He also called for radio stations to stop playing the song. The band naturally fired back at critics, by saying that the song made no direct references to drug abuse and did not even mention the word "drugs" throughout the song, so it was up to the people to interpret the song. They also did mention that the song was about freedom. 

Whether this really is about drug abuse or not, this remains to be one of the most popular songs by The Eraserheads and will forever be remembered by the band's millions of fans. 

Dutch Choir Covers "Bangarang" by Skrillex

This choir from the Netherlands just made dubstep a whole lot more interesting--check out this video as they make their own version of "Bangarang" by Skrillrex during aradio program. Amazing!

Musical Flashback: "Asereje" by Las Ketchup (2002)

Starting today, I shall regularly be posting a series of entries called "Musical Flashback", where I will be posting about songs that were popular from the 60's (or maybe even older) until the early 2000s. With the exception of this particular entry, all other "Musical Flashback" entries will be posted on a Sunday, in line with many radio stations' tradition of playing oldies or classic hits on Sundays. 

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In 2002, the Spanish pop group Las Ketchup (composed of sisters Lucia, Lola and Pilar Munoz) released a song called Asereje or "The Ketchup Song". This was released as the lead single from the singing trio's album Hijas del Tomate. This song proved to be a hit, reaching the number one spot in charts such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, and France. Its popularity also reached the Philippines, where the song became a dance craze as people did their own interpretations of the song's dance steps, as seen on its music video.

The song, however, became very controversial in the Philippines. The Christian sect Iglesia Ni Kristo banned its members from listening to the song, as the song allegedly made references to devil worship. Other sects soon followed suit. These religious groups alleged that when the song was backmasked, references to the devil became even more clear. Its lyrics also apparently makes references to Satan's "coming" in an apocalypse, as stated in numerous e-mails that were circulating at the time. Just take a look at one such e-mail here.

Fans, however, defended the song by saying that the song was merely about a man in a club who dances to his favorite song. 

So what do you think? Is this song truly evil? Or is it just another feel-good European pop song? 

Coca-Cola Does It Again--"Coca Cola Security Cameras" Shows Some Positivity

A lot of Coca Cola's ads never fail to amaze me--this one isn't any different. Just watch the video to see for yourself.

President Obama Sings!

YouTube user baracksdubs has, in the past few months, been uploading a series of funny videos edited to make it look like US President Barack Obama is singing the lyrics to popular songs such as "Call Me Maybe" or "Born This Way". These videos have been getting more attention lately, especially the latest video featuring the song "Call Me Maybe", which has been really getting much attention lately. Below are the said videos. Have fun watching!

A quick question, though: Why would President Obama be saying the word "sexy" in a speech?

She Might Have "Possibly Overreacted"--She's Not Sure

What happens when you take two young ladies, a car, and an unsuspecting bird in one video clip?

A whole lot of laughs--and a bit of head scratching.

That's what you'll certainly get after watching this video posted on YouTube in 2008. The video clip begins with one young lady screaming and looking distraught as her friend seated beside her holds on to a video camera. The young lady behind the wheel continues to scream, leading viewers to think that something might have happened that would scar this girl for life.

Something did certainly happen, but for most people, they would have just shrugged off this incident like nothing happened. Apparently not for this girl.

Later on in the video, we find out that she accidentally hit a bird, and the bird rolls over to the side of the road. The young lady pulls over, and as she checks the injured creature, continues to scream some more, as if she just hit a little child or an elderly man or woman. Her friend holding the camera just shrugs it off, but guilt might just bring the other girl to the brink of insanity.

In a subsequent interview (this video clip has been featured a few times on some American TV shows), the young lady says that since this incident, she hits two more birds while driving.

I think we all know how she might have reacted.

A Tutorial for Club First-Timers

So you've never been to a club before and you don't know how to dance or behave properly? Let Dubai-based Filipino YouTube user jemdahunk teach you and you'll be dancing the night away in Manila's best and hottest clubs after watching these tutorial videos. 

With over 600,000 hits for the first video (since it was uploaded on May 21) and over 200,000 for the second one (uploaded two days later on May 23), jemdahunk will surely have you laughing as he demonstrates how club-goers party away at the clubs. 

These are just the funniest videos I've seen on YouTube in a while and jemdahunk's channel actually has even more of his hilarious videos. I see another funny YouTube star in the making.

Something to Think About

Is This "X" Defined? Is "F" Continuous? Find out.

Who says Calculus isn't fun? Well, I'm definitely one of those people. I loathe Calculus. Just an hour or two in class will certainly be enough to give me a headache. 

But that's certainly not the case for these two guys named Phil Kirk & Mike Gospel. They seem to love Calculus so much, they even made a music video about it, set to one of the world's most popular songs, originally by Queen.

The video, uploaded on May 22, 2009, has since had over 390,000 views on YouTube and is still visited by people wanting a laugh or two. It's amazing how they were able to make the new lyrics fit perfectly to the original song--though they new lyrics about Calculus may leave much to be desired, especially for the Mathematically illiterate like me.

Oh, great. Another headache.

"Call Me Maybe" by the Harvard University Baseball Team

What do bored athletes do while in a van on their way to a baseball game? 

Videotape themselves dancing to a girly song, post it online, then sit and watch as the number of views keep rising--then donate to charity right after.

That's what the members of Harvard University's baseball team did after the video clip of them dancing along to Carly Rae Jepsen's hit song "Call Me Maybe", became a viral hit online, earning over 2,000,000 views just a few days after it was uploaded on YouTube. After they realized that the video was a huge hit, they took the opportunity to let the viewers know about their charity organization, called Friends of Jaclyn, which pairs young children with brain tumors with college role-model athletes. 

The organization was started in 2005 by Denis and Lynda Murphy, with the main goal of improving the lives of children diagnosed with pediatric brain tumors. The foundation now has over 300 children who have been "adopted" by different high school and college athletic college teams throughout the United States. You may check out their website for more information.

The Hardest Job in the World